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who inhabit the world, the saying, He spoke, and they were made, He commanded, and they were created. Since man is a composite being of both an earthly formation and a soul inhabiting the body, that which is formed from the earth is called earth, while that which inhabits the world is the soul, which has been allotted its sojourn in the body. Fittingly, therefore, to the earth is assigned the saying, He spoke, and they were made; concerning our for 29.340 mation from the earth, It was made; but concerning that which was created in the image of God, It was created. But since creation is often understood as transformation and improvement, as in, If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; and, That he might create the two into one new man; perhaps, It was made, is said of the first substantial-being of man; while, It was created, is said of the second regeneration through the grace of Christ. And as much as a mere word differs from a command of God, so great is the difference of creation from generation. The Lord scatters the counsels of the nations; and he frustrates the reasonings of the peoples. This is an explanation of the preceding, how God created those who have believed in him, by scattering the foolish counsels of the peoples, which they held concerning idolatry and all vanity, and by frustrating the counsels of the rulers. It is also possible to refer these things to the time of the passion, when they thought to crucify the king of glory, but he through the economy of the cross was renewing humanity. For in the resurrection the counsel of the nations was scattered, that of Pilate and the soldiers, and of all who were active in the matter of the cross; and the counsels of the rulers were frustrated, of the chief priests and scribes and the kings of the people. For the resurrection dissolved all their scheming. But by recounting from each history all that God has done concerning the unbelieving nations, you will find that the saying also has great power in the physical sense. For when Joram son of Ahab was king in Israel, then the king of Syria, son of Hadad, leading an army with great might and a heavy hand, besieged Samaria, so that they lacked necessities, and the head of a donkey was worth fifty shekels of silver, and a quarter cab of dove’s dung was worth five shekels of silver. Then, therefore, so that the promise of Elisha might be fulfilled, the counsels of Syria were scattered, and leaving their tents and all their substance they fled, leaving such abundance in Samaria that a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for one shekel. Thus, then, the Lord knows how to scatter the counsels of the nations. And how he frustrates the counsels of rulers, we have learned in the case of Ahithophel, when David prayed a prayer, saying: Confound, I pray, the counsel of Ahithophel. Therefore, when you hear someone threatening great things, and promising to bring upon you all sorts of afflictions, losses, or plagues, or deaths, look to the Lord who scatters the counsels of nations, and frustrates the reasonings of peoples. 29.341 But the counsel of the Lord endures forever; the thoughts of his heart to generation and generation. Do you not see the doctrines of the nations, this vain philosophy, how subtle and extravagant they are in the invention of dogmas, both in logical theorems and ethical arrangements, and in certain natural philosophies and other doctrines called epoptic? how they have all been scattered and made worthless, while only the truth of the Gospel now prevails in the world? For many are the counsels in the heart of men; but the counsel of the Lord has prevailed. And it is necessary, if the counsel from God is to remain permanent and firm in our souls, that human reasonings first be scattered within us. For just as one who is about to write on wax first smooths it down, and thus impresses whatever characters he wishes; so also the heart that is to receive the divine oracles clearly must be shown to be pure from contrary reasonings. The thoughts of his heart to generation and generation. Since, therefore, there are two

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κατοικοῦντες τὴν οἰκουμένην, τὸ, Αὐτὸς εἶπε, καὶ ἐγενήθησαν, Αὐτὸς ἐνετείλατο, καὶ ἐκτίσθη σαν. Ἐπειδὴ σύνθετος ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἔκ τε τοῦ γηίνου πλάσματος καὶ ἐκ τῆς ἐνοικούσης ψυχῆς τῷ σώματι, γῆ μὲν λέγεται τὸ ἐκ τῆς γῆς πεπλασμένον, κατοικῶν δὲ τὴν οἰκουμένην, ἡ τὴν ἐν σώματι διαγωγὴν λαχοῦ σα ψυχή. Καταλλήλως οὖν τῇ γῇ ἀποδέδοται τὸ, Αὐ τὸς εἶπε, καὶ ἐγενήθησαν· ἐπὶ μὲν τοῦ πλά 29.340 σματος ἡμῶν τοῦ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς τὸ, Ἐγενήθη· ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς κατ' εἰκόνα τοῦ Θεοῦ κτισθείσης τὸ, Ἐκτίσθη. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἡ κτίσις ἐπὶ τῆς μετακοσμήσεως καὶ βελτιώσεως πολλάκις λαμβάνεται, ὡς τὸ, Εἴ τις ἐν Χριστῷ καινὴ κτίσις· καὶ τὸ, Ἵνα τοὺς δύο κτίσῃ εἰς ἕνα καινὸν ἄνθρωπον· τάχα τὸ μὲν, Ἐγενή θη, ἐπὶ τῆς πρώτης οὐσιώσεως τοῦ ἀνθρώπου λέγεται· τὸ δὲ, Ἐκτίσθη, ἐπὶ τῆς δευτέρας διὰ τῆς χάριτος τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἀναγεννήσεως. Ὅσον δὲ λόγου ψιλοῦ ἐν τολὴ Θεοῦ διαφέρει, τοσοῦτον κτίσεως πρὸς γένεσίν ἐστι τὸ διάφορον. Κύριος διασκεδάζει βουλὰς ἐθνῶν· ἀθετεῖ δὲ λογισμοὺς λαῶν. Ἐξήγησίς ἐστι τοῦ προάγοντος, πῶς ἔκτισεν ὁ Θεὸς τοὺς εἰς αὐτὸν πεπιστευκότας, ἐκ τοῦ διασκεδάσαι τὰς ἀσυνέτους βουλὰς τῶν λαῶν, ἃς εἶχον περὶ εἰδωλολατρείαν καὶ περὶ πᾶσαν ματαιότητα, καὶ ἀθετεῖν τὰς βουλὰς τῶν ἀρχόντων. ∆υνατὸν δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν τοῦ πάθους και ρὸν ἀναγαγεῖν ταῦτα, ὅτε οἱ μὲν ἐνόμιζον σταυ ροῦν τὸν βασιλέα τῆς δόξης, ὁ δὲ διὰ τῆς τοῦ σταυ ροῦ οἰκονομίας ἀνενεοῦτο τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα. Ἐν γὰρ τῇ ἀναστάσει διεσκεδάζετο μὲν ἡ βουλὴ τῶν ἐθνῶν, τοῦ Πιλάτου καὶ τῶν στρατιωτῶν, καὶ ὅσοι τὰ περὶ τὸν σταυρὸν ἐνήργουν· ἠθετοῦντο δὲ αἱ βουλαὶ τῶν ἀρχόντων, ἀρχιερέων καὶ γραμματέων καὶ τῶν βα σιλέων τοῦ λαοῦ. Ἡ γὰρ ἀνάστασις πᾶσαν αὐτῶν διέλυσε τὴν ἐπίνοιαν. Ἀναλεγόμενος δὲ τὰ ἐφ' ἑκά στης ἱστορίας ὅσα περὶ τὰ ἄπιστα ἔθνη ἐνήργησεν ὁ Θεὸς, εὑρήσεις καὶ κατὰ τὸν σωματικὸν νοῦν πολλὴν ἔχον τὴν δύναμιν τὸ ῥητόν. Ὅτε γὰρ Ἰωρὰμ υἱὸς Ἀχαὰβ ἐβασίλευσεν ἐν Ἰσραὴλ, τότε ὁ βασιλεὺς Συρίας υἱὸς Ἀδὲρ, πολλῇ δυνάμει καὶ βαρείᾳ χειρὶ στρατηγήσας, περιεκάθητο τὴν Σαμάρειαν, ὥστε ἐπιλιπεῖν αὐτοῖς τὰ ἀναγκαῖα, καὶ κεφαλὴν ὄνου πεν τήκοντα εἶναι σίκλων ἀργυρίου, καὶ τέταρτον κάβου κόπρου περιστερῶν πέντε σίκλων ἀργυρίου. Τότε τοίνυν, ἵνα ἡ ἐπαγγελία τοῦ Ἑλισσαίου πληρωθῇ, διεσκεδάσθησαν αἱ βουλαὶ τῆς Συρίας, καὶ κα ταλιπόντες τὰς σκηνὰς ἑαυτῶν καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν πε ριουσίαν ἔφυγον, τοσαύτην εὐθηνίαν καταλιπόντες ἐν τῇ Σαμαρείᾳ, ὥστε μέτρον σεμιδάλεως σίκλου, καὶ δίμετρον κριθῆς ἑνὸς σίκλου πωλεῖσθαι. Οὕτω μὲν οὖν ὁ Κύριος οἶδε διασκεδάζειν βουλὰς ἐθνῶν. Πῶς δὲ ἀθετεῖ βουλὰς ἀρχόντων, ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἀχιτόφελ μεμαθήκαμεν, ὅτε ηὔξατο εὐχὴν ὁ ∆αβὶδ λέγων· ∆ιασκέδασον δὴ τὴν βουλὴν Ἀχιτόφελ. Ὅταν οὖν ἀκούσῃς τινὸς ἀπειλοῦντος μεγάλα, καὶ ἐπαγγελ λομένου σοι παντοδαπὰς ἐπάξειν κακώσεις, ζημίας, ἢ πληγὰς, ἢ θανάτους, ἀπόβλεψον πρὸς τὸν Κύριον τὸν διασκεδάζοντα βουλὰς ἐθνῶν, καὶ ἀθετοῦντα λο γισμοὺς λαῶν. 29.341 Ἡ δὲ βουλὴ τοῦ Κυρίου εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα μένει· λογισμοὶ τῆς καρδίας αὐτοῦ εἰς γενεὰν καὶ γε νεάν. Οὐχ ὁρᾷς τὰ τῶν ἐθνῶν δόγματα, τὴν ματαίαν ταύτην φιλοσοφίαν, ὅπως λεπτοὶ καὶ περιττοὶ περὶ τὰς εὑρήσεις τῶν δογμάτων εἰσὶν ἔν τε λογικοῖς θεω ρήμασι καὶ ἠθικαῖς διατάξεσι, καὶ φυσιολογίαις τισὶ καὶ δόγμασιν ἄλλοις τοῖς ἐποπτικοῖς λεγομένοις; πῶς διεσκέδασται πάντα, καὶ ἠχρείωται, μόνη δὲ ἐμ πολιτεύεται νῦν τῷ κόσμῳ ἡ ἀλήθεια τοῦ Εὐαγγε λίου; Πολλαὶ γὰρ αἱ βουλαὶ ἐν καρδίᾳ ἀνθρώπων· ἀλλ' ἡ βουλὴ τοῦ Κυρίου ἐκράτησε. Καὶ ἀναγκαῖόν γε, εἰ μέλλοι μόνιμος καὶ ἑδραία ἡ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ βουλὴ ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἡμῶν ἐναπομένειν, προδια σκεδασθῆναι πρότερον ἐν ἡμῖν τοὺς ἀνθρωπίνους λο γισμούς. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ γράφειν μέλλων ἐν κηρῷ, προκαταλεαίνων πρότερον, οὕτως ἐπιβάλλει τοὺς τύ πους οὓς ἐὰν θέλῃ· οὕτω καὶ καρδίαν χρὴ τὴν μέλ λουσαν τρανῶς ὑποδέχεσθαι τὰ θεῖα λόγια, καθαρὰν ἐκ τῶν ἐναντίων λογισμῶν ἀποδειχθῆναι. Λογισμοὶ τῆς καρδίας αὐτοῦ εἰς γενεὰν καὶ γενεάν. Ἐπεὶ οὖν δύο εἰσὶν